North American business strategies towards climate change

Jones, C.A.

doi:10.1108/sd.2008.05624fad.001

Cited by 68 publications

(113 citation statements)

References 7 publications

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“…This observation is consistent with existing literature (e.g. Derber 2010; Jones and Levy 2007;Lohmann 2011;Sapinski 2015) and indicates that despite their emergence within distinct sections of the corporate elite, climate capitalism and carboniferous capitalism may share similar long term goals.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 81%

Climate capitalism and the global corporate elite network

Sapinski

2015

Environmental Sociology

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This paper explores the political involvement of transnational corporations and their directors in elaborating the project of 'climate capitalism' advanced to address climate change. Climate capitalism seeks to redirect investments from fossil energy to renewable energy generation, so as to foster an ecological modernization of production and reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. I use social network analysis to assess the potential for climate capitalism, as a project of a section of the corporate elite, to replace the current 'carboniferous capitalist' regime. Corporate-funded climate and environmental policy groups (CEPGs) constitute major venues for the corporate elite to assemble and plan their response to the climate crisis. By mapping out the network of board-level interlocks between CEPGs and the largest transnational corporations, I first find that certain CEPGs are centrally located among the global intercorporate network, and thus well positioned to promote climate capitalism among the corporate elite. Second, I delineate a climate capitalist inner circle that includes the individual members of the corporate community who arguably are able to exert the greatest power to shape climate capitalism. However, many of them, close to the oil and nuclear sectors, may support a long-term transition away from fossil fuels, incompatible with avoiding dangerous climatic warming.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 81%

Climate capitalism and the global corporate elite network

Sapinski

2015

Environmental Sociology

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“…According to some studies, companies with the worst performance appear to divulge the greatest amount of information (e.g., Cowan and Deegan 2011;Prado-Lorenzo and Garcia-Sanchez 2010). A significant gap also seems to exist between the real commitment of companies and their public image (Jones and Levy 2007;Nyberg et al 2013;Saeverud and Skjaerseth 2007;Skjaerseth and Skodvin 2001). However, few studies have examined the justifications that big polluters produce to legitimize their operations and their impacts in the area of climate change.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In particular, they challenged the findings of climate science and emphasized the potentially disastrous economic consequences of policies to be adopted in this area. European companies were generally much more receptive to regulations and more willing to invest in green technologies (Jones and Levy 2007;Levy and Egan 2003;Schlichting 2013). Levy and Egan (2003) have analyzed the war of position that companies in the oil and automotive sectors engage in to influence climate regulations.…”

Section: Political Activitiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Strategies for Climate Change and Impression Management: A Case Study Among Canada’s Large Industrial Emitters

2014

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This paper explores the justifications and impression management strategies that industrial companies use to rationalize their impacts on climate change. These strategies influence the perceptions of stakeholders through the use of techniques of neutralization intended to legitimize the impacts of corporate operations in the area of climate change. Based on a qualitative and inductive approach, 10 case studies were conducted of large Canadian industrial emitters. Interviews were conducted with managers and environmental specialists (n = 32). Public documentation was also collected when available. This study identifies six main neutralization techniques that industrial emitters use to rationalize their impacts: self-proclaimed excellence, promotion of a systemic view, denial and minimization, denouncing unfair treatment and deceptive appearances, economic and technological blackmail, and blaming others. The paper develops a better understanding of corporate arguments and strategies aimed at influencing the perceptions of stakeholders, including policymakers. The study also contributes to the literature on impression management by shedding light on new strategies and techniques of neutralization used by managers to shape the perceptions of stakeholders on socially sensitive issues.

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“…The pattern of target-setting across the sectors can be attributed to operational and regulatory factors pertaining to specific sectors. Sectors that are less carbon-intensive in operations (e.g., Diversified Financials, Consumer Durables & Apparel, Food & Staples Retailing, and Software & Services) are less likely to be threatened by regulatory and market pressures [44]. Since regulatory and market risks are instrumental in driving environmental practices [44,45], it can be expected that less carbon-intensive sectors lag behind in using emission targets.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Firms in these two sectors produce the final goods (e.g., cosmetics, food products, drinks) and hence are in closer contact with consumers than firms in the upstream value chain. Decreasing consumer demand for carbon-intensive products has been argued to be one of the primary risks for firms [44], and firms in closer contact with consumers naturally bear greater pressure from the consumers to improve environmental friendliness. Indeed, the literature has shown that being a final goods producer has a significant and positive effect on environmental practices [45].…”

Section: Target Adoption and Target Metricmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Comparative Study of Firm-Level Climate Change Mitigation Targets in the European Union and the United States

Wang

2017

Sustainability

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While the debate on global and national carbon emission targets has dominated every major climate change conference, setting firm-level climate change mitigation targets has become an increasingly important issue. In this paper we present illustrative evidence on cross-country and cross-industry differences of the firm-level mitigation targets among some of the largest corporations in the European Union (EU) and the United States (US) with regard to five aspects, i.e., target adoption, target metric, target scope, target stringency, and target completion. We find that overall 25% of the firms have not set up emission targets. The EU firms are significantly more likely to use intensity targets than the US firms. The EU firms are twice as likely as the US firms to incorporate indirect emissions from the supply chain into the scope of their targets. The Energy and Materials sectors in the EU set significantly more stringent targets than their US counterparts. The energy sectors of the EU and the US in general have not made satisfactory progress toward accomplishment of the targets. Based on these findings, we discuss the most pressing issues that should be addressed by policymakers and firm managers in different regions and sectors with regard to target-setting.

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North American business strategies towards climate change

Cited by 68 publications

References 7 publications

Climate capitalism and the global corporate elite network

Climate capitalism and the global corporate elite network

Strategies for Climate Change and Impression Management: A Case Study Among Canada’s Large Industrial Emitters

A Comparative Study of Firm-Level Climate Change Mitigation Targets in the European Union and the United States

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